Film producer avoids jail after spending £100k of firm’s cash on sex shows

A FILM producer working on a multimillion-pound National Geographic documentary who spent more than £100,000 on online sex shows using a company card has avoided jail.

Mark Johann Insanally, 55, previously admitted fraud between October 2019 and November 2020, at Croydon Magistrates’ Court.

During a hearing at Inner London Crown Court yesterday, prosecutor Peter Lancaster told how Insanally was working for a company called Ventureland, where his job as a producer was to organise the logistics of production which was “millions of pounds over budget”.

The court heard that, from October 2019 to November 2020, Insanally used a company credit card to access online porn and used the Chaturbate adult website.

Mr Lancaster told the court that when the first transactions were spotted by an accountant, he claimed the payments were for archive footage he believed employees in the US were sourcing.

However, when they were seen again, he confessed to having an addiction to online pornography and had paid to watch sex shows. The court heard he spent more than £108,137 on one card.

A victim impact statement from Ventureland read out in court said the incident had a serious financial impact on the company and had damaged its reputation.

Defence lawyer Kieran Galvin said Insanally had medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension and lived with and cared for his sister, who is housebound due to a heart condition.

Insanally was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years and 15 days of rehabilitation.